Saturday, July 08, 2017

Cape Town Schoolkids Crowned Winners Of Nickelodeon Genius 2017

South Africa: The coveted title of Nickelodeon Genius 2017 has been snatched by Western Cape pupils after an intense final match!

Nickelodeon’s Genius is a fun science and maths quiz designed to engage learners in Maths and Science, pitting teams of three kids from schools South Africa against one another in testing their knowledge of subjects such as algebra, calculus, physical science and life sciences. The show’s final episode aired yesterday on NickToons Africa, DStv channel 308.

Three pupils from Curro Durbanville Independent School in Cape Town - Joanie Thom, Dantelle Joubert and Ralph McDougall - have walked away with both the Genius title and R100 000 each, courtesy of Absa MegaU account.

The victorious trio were from Curro Durbanville Independent School. Dantelle Joubert, 17, Ralph McDougall, 16, and Joanie Thom, 16, or as they were known in the competition, team Spontaneous Combustion, proved their superior smarts in maths and science by beating pupils from KwaZulu-Natal’s Reddam House and Danville Park Girls’ High School.

Dantelle, the team’s self-appointed motivator, said: “I still can’t believe we won Genius 2017! What an experience!”

The three have each won R100000 Mega-U account and a out-of-this-world trip to Nasa's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. They will get to meet a real-life astronaut, experience a simulated space shuttle launch and participate in an astronaut training programme as well as visiting Universal Studios in Orlando. They also won educational goodies worth R30000 for their school, courtesy of Cambridge Publishing.

Willine Harvett, the teacher from Curro Durbanville who accompanied the team on their travels, said: “I am so proud to have been part of this wonderful adventure. The hours of preparation, little sleep and almost two weeks of competition battles paid off in the end. We look forward to our trip to the US.”

Nickelodeon’s Genius is powered by ABSA MegaU, and supported by the Government’s Department of Basic Education (DBE) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST).